


Finding the Magic

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic 2020 [48]
Category: The Three Investigators | Die drei ??? - Various Authors, The Trixie Belden Mysteries - Julie Campbell Tatham & Kathryn Kenny
Genre: Actors, Alternate Universe - 1940s, F/M, First Meetings, Mystery, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25095328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: LJ Comment Fic for 100 Words on the 1940s prompt:any, any, “I don't want realism. I want magic!” (A Streetcar Named Desire- Tennessee Williams)In which Trixie is an actress, Pete is her friend and production assistant, and Jupiter gets hired by the studio to solve a rash of crimes.
Relationships: Trixie Belden/Jupiter Jones | Justus Jonas
Series: Bite Sized Fic 2020 [48]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1610332
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3
Collections: Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2020





	Finding the Magic

**Hollywood, 1940-something**

“Cut!”

Trixie blew out a frustrated breath. Mitch hadn’t let them get through a whole scene yet, and the day was half over. If she didn’t get something to eat soon, she was going to faint dead away right in front of the cameras.

“Trixie, sweetheart. What’s the problem?”

“You said to play it in a way I could relate to,” Trixie explained. She tried not to lose her temper, but it had been a long day. “It doesn’t make sense for Louise to throw herself at Lennie’s feet and lay there sobbing as he walks away.”

“She’s sad,” Mitch said. “Really, really sad.”

“Yes, I know. But every other time she’s on screen, we’ve shown what a strong and capable woman she is. She wouldn’t just crumble like that. It’s not realistic.”

“I don’t want realism! I want magic!”

“And I want a sandwich.”

Trixie walked away before she said something regrettable. Pete almost immediately fell into step with her.

“You’re right. That scene is a stinker.”

“Can’t you talk to him?” Trixie asked, looking up at Pete. “He listens to you.”

Pete was Mitch’s right-hand man, one step up from a union PA. If someone gave him half a chance, he’d be directing his own movies. Pete had a great eye for setting a scene.

“I’ll see what I can do. Let’s get you that sandwich.”

Trixie didn’t care about the shooting schedule. She and Pete went to the commissary for lunch. She didn’t each much. Fresh-faced young actresses were supposed to have trim figures, and some of the directors Trixie worked with could be cruel about weight gain.

“I just wish I could make one picture where my character’s happiness wasn’t hung on the male lead.”

“You’ll get better parts,” Pete promised. “Once you’ve had a little more exposure, the sky’s the limit for you.”

Trixie sighed. “I wish you were a civilian. It would be easy for a girl to fall for you.”

Pete blushed, and changed the subject. Trixie had suspicions about him, but she wasn’t one to judge. Anyone as sweet as him deserved to be happy.

“They still haven’t found who’s behind the prop thefts,” Pete said conspiratorially. “I hear the head honcho is bringing in outside help.”

Burt Lorber was the head of Terrell Studios, and not a guy to be crossed. If his private security wasn’t cutting the mustard, things really must be serious. If Trixie had any free time, she’d have helped out. Solving mysteries had been her thing as a kid.

Fully fortified, Trixie went back to the studio and Pete went in search of the script writer to talk about Trixie’s take on her character.

Mitch was in a heated argument with Kurt, the actor playing Lennie, so she grabbed a seat behind the cameras and waited patiently. Less than a minute later a complete stranger dropped into the chair beside hers.

“Is he always like this?” the guy asked.

Trixie gave him a side-eyed look, noting absently that he was good-looking, if you liked hair with a natural wave and a strong chin. He couldn’t have been much older than she was, though guessing people’s ages in Hollywood was a fool’s game.

“This is a closed set,” she replied.

The guy held up a lanyard that he hadn’t bothered putting around his neck. “Mr. Lorber gave me a free pass.”

He wasn’t press. As much as Lorber liked to wine and dine them, they weren’t allowed unsupervised access. So, this guy was either a relative, or –

“You’re here to stop the prop thefts,” Trixie said. “Aren’t you a little young for a detective?”

“I wasn’t aware of an obligatory age for deducing the truth about people.”

He sounded like her brother Mart, who also liked using big words.

“Jupe! Hey, I see you met Trixie.” Pete was suddenly standing between their chairs, a hand on the guy’s shoulder. “This is my old pal, Jupiter Jones. I didn’t know you were on the case.”

“I am, and I better get to it.”

As Jupiter walked away, Pete leaned close to Trixie’s ear. “He’s a civilian.”

A handsome civilian who solved mysteries? Trixie’s day was looking up.


End file.
